Tag Archives: politics

Tulsi Gabbard is a Democrat representing Hawaii’s 2nd District in the US House of Representatives. She is also a Major in the Army National Guard and a recently declared presidential candidate.

She is also a Hindu.

In response to criticisms regarding her religion and her political aspirations, Gabbard wrote a strongly worded rebuttal published at Religion News Service saying “religious bigotry is un-American” [emphasis added]:

While the headlines covering my announcement could have celebrated this historic first [a Hindu presidential candidate], and maybe even informed Americans about the world’s third largest religion, some have instead fomented suspicion, fear and religious bigotry about not only me but also my supporters…

Some media outlets have chosen to craft a false narrative of intrigue by profiling and targeting all of my donors who have names of Hindu origin and accusing them of being “Hindu nationalists.”

Today it’s the profiling and targeting of Hindu Americans and ascribing to them motives without any basis. Tomorrow will it be Muslim or Jewish Americans? Japanese, Hispanic or African Americans?

Update: Covered by Todd Starnes, who apparently received a visit from Gen Teichert while Starnes was in the hospital.

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s latest target in his war against Christians in the US military — despite his repeated assurances he is not attacking Christians — is US Air Force BGen E. John Teichert.

Until last month, BGen Teichert was the commander of the 11th Wing and Joint Base Andrews in the Washington, DC, area — home to the presidential fleet of aircraft, among other things. He recently took command of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards AFB, CA.

Though it is difficult to tell exactly, it seems Mikey Weinstein is trying to accuse BGen Teichert of using his rank and position to convert people to Christianity, though it took a tortured, cynical, and twisted series of steps to come to that conclusion.

The difficulty is poorly laid out in the 22-page letter [PDF] written by Read more

The women prayed together “for the safety of our country and that equality would remain consistent.” Both supported Hillary Clinton, while the majority of the ship’s crew voted for President-elect Donald Trump, said Runge…

Statistically, Runge may be correct, as the US military stereotypically leans Republican, but Read more

Hidden in the message of many of the lamentations regarding the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States is the shocking revelation that one half of America thinks differently than the other half — and they have a voice.

Gregg Popovich — coach of the San Antonio Spurs and a 1970 graduate of the US Air Force Academy — recently bemoaned this disparity in values, though he was blind to his own hypocrisy [emphasis added]:

I’m just sick to my stomach. Not basically because the Republicans won or anything, but the disgusting tenor and tone and all of the comments that have been xenophobic, homophobic, racist, misogynistic.

I live in that country where half of the people ignored all of that to elect someone. That’s the scariest part of the whole thing to me. It’s got nothing Read more

The Washington Post (repeated at the Stars and Stripes) spoke with a variety of US troops following the election last Tuesday (anonymously, due to restrictions on active duty troops speaking on political topics), and it seems many were supportive of President-elect Donald Trump. In one case, the feeling within the military was equated with “the day Osama was killed.”

While noting the US military tends to lean conservative anyway, the Post drilled this apparent positive reaction down to two issues: the shrinking budget and forced social change [emphasis added]: Read more

Casey Weinstein, son of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, is running for the state legislature in Ohio. He’s apparently a Democrat — which fits the family profile of the elder Weinstein, who makes a point of saying he’s a “registered Republican” but has only publicly supported Democrats for years. Casey has previously been a local councilman for Hudson City and now seems to be aiming a little higher.

Casey’s specific political aspirations aren’t particularly relevant — except that the Republican party, supporting incumbent Kristina Roegner, recently sent out a mailer highlighting the Weinsteins’ 2005 lawsuit against the US Air Force Academy. It seems Casey Weinstein has been campaigning on his military credentials (even wearing an Air Force shirt going door-to-door), so he’s engendered interest in his somewhat tense relationship with the military.

In a short article clearly promoted by Weinstein (he even provided the mailer), the “reporter” essentially debunks the political mailer and lauds Casey’s credentials: Read more

Tony Carr, a retired C-17 squadron commander, has begun to make a name for himself in his public commentary on Air Force issues on his John Q. Public blog. He speaks in terms other Airmen recognize — and often in a tone that others wish they were allowed to muster.

He recently took retired General Roger Brady to task for the General’s dressing-down of Airmen who dared to contact their congressmen about the future of the A-10. The General had written a letter that was published in the Air Force Times, and Carr highlights an interesting point. While criticizing the Airmen’s decision to talk to their congressmen — a point he says General Mark Welsh agreed is a right — General Brady explicitly said Read more